Simon Edvinsson could be looking at really big money on a long-term deal, and should an interim GM make those decisions?
The Chris Johnston Show: Chris Johnston was asked what a contract could look like for Detroit Red Wings RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson. Will he get more than $10 million a year if it’s a long-term deal? Do they do a bridge deal? Should an interim GM be making a big, long-term decisions?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Producer Drew: “Staying on Edvinson for a second, I’m seeing a lot of like crazy AAVs getting put out there. Do you have a sense of anywhere where this is likely going to land? Is it closer to five, or are we going to see a double-digit AAV for him?
Johnston: “I think if it’s long-term, it’s double-digit. You know, that’s, that’s my sense. Like, if he’s doing like a six or seven-year deal, it’s probably more than 10 million a year. I mean, there’s, I’m still trying, I don’t have a compass right now to tell me what the right feel is for any contract because, you know, everything has been thrown such into whack. And, and we really don’t have comparables.
I mean, I suppose there’s all the contracts signed since July 3rd, when Leo Carlson got his offer sheet, because those numbers are different than everything that came before it. But even those numbers are, are moving. So, you know, what is the one trend we’re seeing of them all though? Young players with talent and upside, which that Simon Edvinsson fits that perfectly, those guys are getting massive deals.
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You know, Ryan Leonard getting 10 and a half million in Washington, not yet at 100 games played in the NHL. You know, and all the others. I mean, there’s, there’s been a bunch in the last couple weeks, and especially the last couple days.
So, you know, I think if they’re going to go long term with him, it’s definitely $10 million plus. That’s what I’m hearing that the price tag is. You know the the the answer might be just do a one or two-year deal or something really short. Get him, you know, he’s at camp, so he didn’t holdout, even though he doesn’t have his contract. You know he’s in good faith, showing up to work. So maybe just do a short-term deal, get through the season, and kick it down the road.
But at a certain point in time, there’s, these are massive organizational decisions, right? If you’re giving out whatever 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 million dollar contracts, which I think is what you’re looking at for long-term deals on guys like Edvinsson and DeBrincat, like you want someone making that call that isn’t wearing the interim tag or someone that’s going to be part of it. If you’re trading Dylan Larkin, you, you kind of want that to be someone who’s part of thinking about the long-term plan here.
And, and you know, I do think as time’s gone on here that, that Shawn Horcoff has a very likely, will be part of whatever the next version of this front office is, even when the interim tags go away. But, you know, maybe ultimately he’s paired with someone else or what have you. I mean, as it is right now, he’s in the main chair.
But these are, these are big decisions. These are the kind of decisions any GM in the league has to go to ownership to get approval on because it’s that kind of money. And, and, you know, we’re talking right now on, like, training camps are open. And some of these conversations are really just getting going in a meaningful way again.
The Red Wings have been playing catch-up. There’s no way around it. Ever since, you know, with Yzerman being pushed out in early July, you know, they’d already missed the window to hire a GM. Obviously, they’re going through a search. They’ve engaged a search firm.
I understand that you’re going to want to, you’re going to want to take your time to find the right person. Like, this is, it’s an important decision, but you know, as a result of that, they’re they’re flat-footed, and this is a summer where you don’t want to be flat-footed.
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If there’s a trend, I would say the teams that waited on, the teams that grinded players or waited to make a big decision, they’re, they’re paying a tax for that because the contracts right now are so much higher than even deals that were, that would have been signed in May and June. And you know, I think that the Red Wings are among the teams I put in that, that category just because the way everything’s gone.
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